Crochet Hat Keychain

This crochet hat keychain is a tiny yellow straw hat with a domed crown, a red band and a wide flat brim. The crown, the band and the top of the brim are worked in one piece from the top down. A flat disc closes the underside, so the brim stays crisp, and the key ring loop grows right out of the brim's edge. You'll need DK cotton in yellow and red, a 2.5 mm hook and about 1½ hours.

Key Takeaways

• Two pieces only: the hat (crown, band and top of the brim) and a flat underside disc.
• The brim turns out in the front loops: one FLO round starts the turn, and the increases open it flat.
• A double brim: joining the two layers with one round of sc gives a firm, neat edge.
• Hangs face-on: the loop is worked from the back of the brim, so the crown faces you on your keys.

Why I love this keychain

Why a hat? Because it's one of the most recognizable little shapes you can make in an evening. A dome, a stripe and a brim, and everyone knows what it is from across the room. The red band is only two rounds, but it's what makes the hat read as a straw sun hat.

It's also a lovely thing to give. Tie it onto a kraft gift tag and it's ready for a party favor, a market stall or a friend who loves summer. The tag is explained at the end.

Skill level. Easy. You need a magic ring, sc and inc, one round in the front loops only, and a joining round through two layers. I explain each part step by step.

More tiny accessories? My cupcake crochet keychain is another quick one.

What you'll need

Yarn (DK #3 cotton)

Color	Used for	Amount
Sunny yellow	Crown, brim, underside disc, key ring loop	about 25 yd
Red	The band	about 3 yd

• I like Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK. It's smooth, the yellow is bright, and the stitches stay crisp at this size. Any DK cotton works: check your size against the gauge below.
• I've worked these amounts out from the stitch count, with tails for sewing. They're estimates.

Hook

• 2.5 mm. It's a small hook for DK on purpose: the crown comes out firm and the brim stays dense.

Notions

• A little fiberfill, 4 stitch markers, a tapestry needle and scissors.
• A split key ring (25 mm / 1 in), with or without a short chain.
• Optional, for gifting: a kraft paper tag about 2½ × 4½ in (6 × 11 cm) with a hole at the top.

Gauge

Gauge isn't critical. Crochet tightly enough that the stuffing doesn't show between the stitches. With DK cotton and a 2.5 mm hook, that's about 6 sc per inch (2.5 cm). The sizes below are calculated from that, with rounds about as tall as the stitches are wide (about 6 rounds per inch). At that tension, the hat should come out about 2¾ in (7 cm) across the brim, with a crown about 1¼ in (3 cm) across and 1¼ in (3 cm) tall. Those sizes are estimates, so measure yours: your tension and how much you stuff the crown both change the height.

Abbreviations (US crochet terms)

• MR: magic ring
• ch: chain
• sc: single crochet
• inc: 2 sc in the same st
• sl st: slip stitch
• FLO: front loop only
• R: round
• st(s): stitch(es)

Work in continuous spiral rounds. Don't join, and move your marker up at the start of each round. The number in parentheses at the end of each round is the stitch count.

How the hat is built

Here's the whole thing in one sentence. The hat starts with a magic ring at the top of the crown and ends at the edge of the brim, and a flat disc of the same size closes the underside. The two brims are joined with one round of sc, the crown is lightly stuffed in between, and the key ring loop is chained from that joining round at the back of the hat. Hung from the back of its brim, the hat faces you, crown forward.

The pattern, step by step

Part 1: The crown, the band and the top of the brim

Make 1, in yellow and red.

Changing color. Work the last sc of the round until 2 loops are left on the hook, then finish it with the new color. Cut the old color, leaving a 3 in (7.5 cm) tail, and tie the two tails together loosely on the inside. The little step where the rounds meet is the back of the hat, so keep your color changes there. The key ring loop goes there too.

Crown (yellow).

• R1: MR, 6 sc in the ring. (6) Pull the ring closed. This is the very top of the crown.
• R2: inc × 6. (12)
• R3: (sc, inc) × 6. (18)
• R4: sc around. (18) This plain round helps the top curve down into a dome. The stuffing finishes the shape (Part 3).
• R5: (sc 2, inc) × 6. (24)
• R6–R7: sc around. (24) The sides go straight down. Change to red in the last st of R7.

Band (red).

• R8–R9: sc around. (24) Change to yellow in the last st of R9.

Top of the brim (yellow). The first brim round goes in the front loops only. That starts the turn outward, and the increases in the next rounds open the brim out flat. The free back loops of R9 stay on the inside, under the band.

• R10: in FLO, (sc 3, inc) × 6. (30)
• R11: (sc 2, inc, sc 2) × 6. (36) From here, work in both loops again.
• R12: (sc 5, inc) × 6. (42)
• R13: (sc 3, inc, sc 3) × 6. (48)

Sl st in the next st and fasten off. Weave the tail into the underside of the brim.

Check the brim now. Set the hat on the table, crown up. The brim should lie roughly flat around the crown. A slight wave is fine: the joining round will even it out. If it ruffles strongly or curls up like a bowl, the disc won't fix it. Pull back to R10 and work the brim rounds again, a little tighter for ruffles or a little looser for a bowl.

Part 2: The underside disc

Make 1, in yellow. It's a flat circle with the same increases as the brim, so the two end up the same size.

• R1: MR, 6 sc in the ring. (6)
• R2: inc × 6. (12)
• R3: (sc, inc) × 6. (18)
• R4: (sc 2, inc) × 6. (24)
• R5: (sc 3, inc) × 6. (30)
• R6: (sc 2, inc, sc 2) × 6. (36)
• R7: (sc 5, inc) × 6. (42)
• R8: (sc 3, inc, sc 3) × 6. (48)

Don't fasten off. Slip the last loop onto a stitch marker so it can't unravel.

Size check. Turn the hat upside down and lay the disc on the brim. The two edges should line up all the way around. If the disc is clearly bigger or smaller, rework R8 with a tighter or looser tension until they match.

Place the alignment markers. On the brim's R13, put a marker in the st right above the color-change step (the back of the hat), then in every 12th st after it: 4 markers, 12 sts apart. On the disc's R8, put a marker in the first st of the round, then in every 12th st after it, the same way.

Part 3: Join the brim, add the loop and finish

1. Stuff the crown. Hold the hat upside down and push a small tuft of fiberfill into the crown, just enough to round the dome. If the stitches start to stretch or the stuffing shows between them, take a little out. Don't stuff the brim.
2. Line up the layers. Put the disc under the hat, wrong sides together: the right side of the disc faces down, out of the hat. The top of the brim faces you. Match the four markers on the disc with the four on the brim, and put the disc's live loop back on your hook.
3. Joining round. Ch 1. Work the first sc through the marked back st of the brim's R13 and the marked first st of the disc's R8. Then work 1 sc through both layers in each st around: the next st of the brim, then the next st of the disc. Each pair of markers should meet as you reach it. That's 48 sc in total, and the two edges become one neat rounded edge. If some stuffing slips into the brim, push it back up into the crown before you close the last few sts.
4. Key ring loop. Sl st in the top of the first sc of the joining round. Without fastening off, ch 10, then sl st in the top of that same first sc again, and sl st in the next sc. Every joining sc already holds both layers, so these sl sts anchor the loop through the whole edge, at the back of the hat. Fasten off, leaving an 8 in (20 cm) tail.
5. Reinforce the loop. With that tail, sew 8 to 10 small stitches over the base of the loop: each one goes around the first 2 chains of the loop and down through both brim layers, just under the joining round, in the 2 or 3 joining sc right below the loop (no further along the edge). Hide the end between the layers. A keychain gets pulled every day, so be generous here.
6. Define the crown. With a 12 in (30 cm) length of yellow, backstitch right around the base of the crown, through the top of the brim and the disc, along the ridge where R10 turned out in the front loops, just below the red band. Don't go through the band itself. About 12 evenly spaced stitches is enough. Keep them snug but not tight, so the brim doesn't pucker. This keeps the stuffing in the crown and the brim flat. Hide the ends between the layers.
7. Add the ring. Open the split ring with a fingernail and wind it onto the chain loop, like putting a key on it, until the loop sits in the ring.

Hold the hat up by its ring: it hangs face-on, with the crown toward you. Give the loop a few firm tugs. It shouldn't move. Cotton chain can stretch over time: if it does, sew over the chain with a second strand of yellow.

Optional: press the brim flat under a heavy book for an hour, or steam it lightly with an iron held just above it (never touching), and let it cool flat. Skip this if you don't own a steam iron.

Make it gift-ready

For a gift or a market table, cut 20 in (50 cm) of yellow yarn. Thread it through the hole of a kraft paper tag, then through the split ring, and back up through the hole. Tie the two ends in a bow at the top of the tag. The hat hangs on the front of the tag, and the back is free for a little note.

Safety. This keychain has a metal key ring, so it isn't a toy for children under 3. For a little one, leave off the ring and loop and make it as a doll's hat instead (see the variations below).

Make it yours — quick variations

Variation	Change from base pattern
Blush sun hat	Cream crown and brim with a blush pink band, or a narrow satin ribbon tied around the crown.
Two-tone band	Work R8 in one color and R9 in another, for a striped ribbon look.
Wide-brim hat	Add one more round to both the brim and the disc: (sc 7, inc) × 6 (54) on each, then join with 54 sc. Place the markers 13 or 14 sts apart.
Bag charm	Swap the split ring for a lobster clasp so it clips onto a bag handle.
Doll's hat	Skip the disc, the stuffing and the loop. Finish the brim with a round of sl st. The crown is about 4 in (10 cm) around, so try it on your doll's head before you make the brim.

Troubleshooting the three things that go wrong

The brim curls up like a bowl

The brim rounds are too tight for the increases, or the disc is smaller than the brim. Check the brim on its own before joining (end of Part 1), compare the disc with it before joining (Part 2), and press the finished brim flat under a book.

The brim ruffles

The brim rounds are too loose, so the edge is longer than a flat circle needs. Rework the brim with a firmer tension. You can also try a 2.25 mm hook for R10–R13 and for the disc, but that makes the brim a little smaller, so check the disc against the brim again.

The crown looks flat on top

The crown is shaped by R4 and by the stuffing. Before the joining round is closed, push a second small tuft up into the dome with the back of the hook and shape it round with your fingers. Stop before the stitches stretch. The backstitch around the base of the crown then keeps it in place.